Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 September 2012
997. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Communications; Energy and Natural Resources his views on the recent European Parliament report entitled Impacts of Shale Gas and Shale Oil Extraction on the Environment and on Human Health; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39165/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can confirm for the Deputy that I am aware of the Report in question which was published by the European Parliament a little over a year ago. I am also aware of the three most recent Reports, Unconventional Gas: Potential Energy Market Impacts in the EU; Climate Impact of Potential Shale Gas Production in the EU and the Report on Unconventional Gas in Europe which were published by the European Commission earlier this month.
From an Irish perspective, in October of last year, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources requested the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct research and advise on the environmental implications of hydraulic fracturing as a means of extracting natural gas from underground reserves.
In May 2012, the EPA published its preliminary research into the environmental aspects of shale gas extraction in the form of a small desk based study, which was carried out by the University of Aberdeen.
The study provides an introduction to the environmental aspects of fracking including a review of regulatory approaches used in other countries and areas for further investigation and research such as geological principles of relevance in fracking and shale gas extraction, potential environmental impacts and establishing best environmental practice.
The EPA proposes to commission further, more extensive research on hydraulic fracturing later this year and a working group involving representatives from my Department and the EPA has been established to develop the scope for this study. The research will examine the environmental considerations relating to the use of hydraulic fracturing generally, taking account of all relevant studies.
The outcome of the further research to be commissioned by the EPA, together with other relevant studies, will assist in a robust scientific based assessment of any future application proposing the use of this technology.
